People of Hunan Angry with Police Over the Suspicious Sudden Death of a Falun Gong Practitioner

2012-06-22

On May 16, 2012, Ms. Xu Chensheng, 47, from Chenzhou City, Hunan Province, was arrested by officers from the Renmin West Road Police Station. She was then illegally detained and interrogated. She died just 12 hours after her arrest. The police claimed that she died from an illness. Her family was overcome with sorrow and anger, and local citizens became furious after hearing the news of her death.

None of the local media reported on Ms. Xu's death, even ten days after the incident. On May 19, someone called the Hunan Metropolitan Newspaper and a local television station to present a third-party view for the story, but both the newspaper and the station said that they were afraid to send reporters to investigate because the incident involved Falun Gong. Even if they did indeed conduct an investigation, they would not be able to broadcast or print it.

There is an old saying: paper cannot contain fire. Although the CCP is always cruel in controlling people's actions, it cannot cover their mouths. The news of Ms. Xu's sudden death spread very quickly among the people of Chenzhou.

Four days after Ms. Xu's death, many posters announcing “Calling for the murderers to be punished!” appeared on the main street and along neighbourhood roads. Some who saw the posters sighed and remarked, “Oh, this world is so terrible,” and, “How could someone just die in the police station like that?”

Some people cursed at the police officers, accusing them of being mobsters. One individual said, “Her family should go to the city government and sue the police. A director from Hunan Province just came to Chenzhou City for a meeting. Go tell him about this.”

One woman was very angry and said, “She just wanted to do the exercises. Why did you [CCP] kill her? It is her right to believe in whatever she wants to believe in. You CCP kill people; it only shows that you are evil and that Falun Gong is good!” She raised her fists and said, “I also want to practice Falun Gong; I for sure want to practise Falun Gong!”

Some people took photos of the posters and made videos of letters containing the facts about Ms. Xu's death; some people added it to their blogs and QQ (China's largest video chat network), and many people who followed the blogs online became enraged at Ms. Xu's death.

In many places, the posters drew a lot of attention. In the beginning, only a few people understood, then there were a few more, and finally there was a big group. More and more people wanted to know the truth.

A shop owner saw so many people gathered around a poster that he worried about his business being affected. He took down the poster but the crowd immediately challenged him. “How can you do that?” people asked him. The owner replied, “Don't get me wrong, I just want to move the poster to a different location.”

Later, a young Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) officer tore down the poster. Someone yelled at him, “Don't take it down!” The officer said, “She was not beaten to death; don't spread rumors.” The person said, “If you claim that she was not beaten to death, then just leave the poster there and let people see it. Let them make their own judgement.” The officer ordered the person to follow him to the police station. The person angrily responded, “You don't own the police station. Do you want to beat me to death there, too? Let me tell you, that is impossible. At your age, why don't you have any sympathy? If this happened to your parents or your sisters, what would you do?” The officer lowered his head and left the crowd without a word.

Although the Residential Committee and Comprehensive Management Office send people every day to take down the posters, the posters still constantly show up in the streets and neighbourhoods. The posters give people a chance to learn the truth. Justice will stay in the hearts of the people.

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